Rebels duo inks lacrosse futures

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published 7:00 pm, Sunday, November 25, 2007

The veteran coach stood proud as he watched his senior attackman Sean Macey and senior defenseman C.J. Costabile sign their official letters of intent to two top-tier Division I institutions last Thursday and Friday, respectively.

"It is just incredible," Morgan said. "I'm so happy for both of them. They are the best kids and have worked so hard to get to this point."

Macey will be staying local after signing with the Quinnipiac Bobcats in Hamden while Costabile will be heading south, joining the NCAA national runner-up Duke Blue Devils in Durham, N.C.

The moment, however, was not a surprising one to Morgan for several reasons.

Morgan has seen a bright future for his two stars for years, even before Macey and Costabile verbally committed to their respective schools this summer.

"If these two wouldn't have gone to big-time programs I would have been a little disappointed," said Morgan, who helped set up and run the New Fairfield youth lacrosse program. "From the day I saw them I knew they were special players."

Costabile, who received recruitment letters from all 56 Division I lacrosse schools, has gained particular attention for his amazing stick skills and physical presence in both the face-off circle and defensive zone.

As a junior last year, Costabile was selected to the All-State Class S team and the All-South-West Conference First Team after winning 279 of 377 face-offs (74 percent) and leading the state in groundballs with 322. He also managed to tally 66 points from his defense position, scoring 29 goals and handing out 37 assists.

His immense talent, knowledge and work ethic also earned him a selection to the Team USA men's under-19 team, which will compete for the International Lacrosse Federation Under-19 World Championship in Coquitlam, B.C., Canada in July 2008.

But none of his achievements thus far, topped merely signing his name to a piece of paper last week.

"It was an amazing relief," Costabile said. "It felt so great to officially be a Blue Devil. It's an incredible feeling."

Macey certainly knows how his teammate feels.

"It the realization of a dream," Macey said of inking his name with Quinnipiac. "It so exciting to know I'm going to play Division I lacrosse."

Macey's road to Hamden has been no less spectacular than Costabile's journey to Durham.

It's just been less publicized.

Macey lacks the size as his 6-2, 185-pound teammate and until last season he also lacked the headlines.

That quickly changed when the 5-7, 175-pound Macey netted an amazing 115 goals for the Rebels last season.

And the interest from several colleges grew as Macey excelled with Costabile on the Connecticut Hurricanes, a select traveling lacrosse team.

"Playing with C.J. and the Hurricanes really made me better," Macey said. "It helped me improve and get the recognition I needed."

Of course, Macey and Costabile have been going at each other for years in practice, pushing each other to a higher level.

"Playing against someone with that much skill forces you to go harder," Macey said of Costabile. "Sometimes I beat him, sometimes he stops me, but we always managed to push each other."

And they managed to push each other to the highest level, sharing yet another experience along the way.

"It doesn't get much better than to share success with you teammate," Costabile said. "We are both great friends and I'm as happy for him as I know he is for me."

The two have only two more experiences they want to share together now: winning a state and conference championship in their senior season.

"That's how we want to go out," Costabile said. "We all know how good we can be. Anything less would be a disappointment."